Fourteen of the at-risk jewelled geckos were discovered by Dutch wildlife authorities in 2023 and although some of the original group of animals have since died, six of them have been repatriated to New Zealand.
Doc wildlife crime team Leader Dylan Swain said the recovery of the animals was part of Operation Thunder, an international operation involving several government organisations and Interpol, which focused on the illegal trade in protected wildlife.
‘‘Jewelled geckos have never legally been exported from New Zealand.
‘‘It’s likely the geckos found by our Dutch counterparts were in fact smuggled out of New Zealand or are the offspring of such animals,’’ Mr Swain said.
Responding to a question from the Otago Daily Times, he said Doc was unsure of where the animals, or their parents, might have been poached from, but they had markings typical of the Otago Peninsula population.
The six geckos returned to New Zealand were made up of two males and four females, Doc said.
They were returned to New Zealand in International Air Travel Association-compliant individual ventilated containers and kept at a consistent temperature throughout their journey.
All geckos would receive close care and attention, and spend a minimum of 60 days in quarantine at Wellington Zoo as part of their return process.
Doc had worked closely with Netherlands food and consumer product safety authority NVWA, Prince William’s charity United for Wildlife and Korean Air to safely return the geckos from the Netherlands to New Zealand via Korea.
A Dutch inspector accompanied the geckos on their repatriation journey.
NVWA spokesperson Lex Benden said the authority was pleased its investigation contributed to the geckos ‘‘now being back where they belong.’’
Dutch authorities were collaborating with Doc to share information on the matter and the wider trade in geckos across Europe.
Jewelled geckos or moko kākāriki are native to the southeast of the South Island and are generally a striking bright green with diamond-shaped patches or stripes although in some populations the males are grey or brown.
Their bodies grow up to 8cm in length, but their tail doubles their length. Their New Zealand threat classification is ‘‘at risk, declining’’ and are considered a taonga species by Ngāi Tahu.
They can be found in forest or shrublands in Canterbury, Otago and Southland.
In 2010 three foreign nationals were jailed after they were caught with 16 geckos stolen from Otago Peninsula.
In the same year a German man was caught trying to smuggle 44 live geckos and skinks out of the country in his underwear.
